word, each phrase that of a thought. It was declamation without pathos; but both simple
and noble.’
In a slow or moderate tempo the appoggiatura is to be played simultaneously with the
bass note that accompanies the ornamented note. In the Dubois score an appoggiatura is
frequently linked by a line to the corresponding bass note. This indicates that it is to be
played on the beat. This way of giving the appoggiatura its full worth and, in certain
cases, of augmenting the harmonic tension, is related to the aesthetic of bel canto and its
instrumental application as in the baroque era.
Chopin wanted a trill to begin on the upper note. When it is preceded by a small note of
the same pitch as the principal note it means that the trill should begin on the principal
note. Trills were not to be played so much rapidly as with great evenness with the ending
tranquil and not at all precipitate. For the turn and the appoggiatura Chopin
recommended the great Italian singers as models.
Chopin was quite strict about the exact comprehension and performance of his works. It
required the genial personality of Chopin’s young pupil Carl Filtsch to make Chopin
admit: ‘We each understand this differently but go on your own way, do as you feel, it
can also be played like that.’
Chopin said to one of his pupils:
‘Forget you are being listened to, and always listen to yourself. When you’re at the piano,
I give you full authority to do whatever you want; follow freely the ideal you’ve set for
yourself and which you must feel within you; be bold and confident in your own powers
and strength, and whatever you say will always be good. It would give so much pleasure
to hear you play with complete abandon that I’d find the shameless confidence of the
‘vulgaires” unbearable by comparison.’
Chopin discussed with Delacroix the problems of aesthetics. Chopin’s intentions were to
produce a new treatise on music. He discussed his intent with several of his more
intimate friends. He had conceived the idea of writing a treatise on music. In this he was
going to gather together his ideas on the theory and practice of his art together with his
knowledge derived from his experience and the fruits of his long study. Even for so
determined a worker as Chopin, a task of this magnitude demanded redoubled efforts.
The work was too abstract, too absorbing. He formed an outline of this subject matter,
but, though he mentioned it on several occasions, he could never complete it; only a few
pages were sketched in and they were burned with the rest.
Pleyel
Frédéric Chopin, who in 1831 was only planning a short stay in Paris, finally settled
down there, and only left France for a tour of England with Camille Pleyel. Chopin was
almost certainly introduced to Pleyel pianos by Kalkbrenner, an associate of the firm who
took the Polish composer/pianist under his wing when he first arrived in Paris. From then